Gaming journalism has being the butt of the joke in the gaming community. No one respects the art anymore, and for good reasons. What was once a medium used to tell news in an objectified manner and to inform the public of any relevant information and news that may be of use to them, has now turned into this…this, for lack of better word, a fucking dumpster fire. Of course it’s easy for me to call out the flaws of anything but what I wanted to do is discuss how we can fix this narrative as a community.
Now, I don’t necessary see myself as a journalist of any kind. I’m more of a blogger that’s focused on discussing various aspect of the geek culture while expressing my thoughts and opinions on these topics in a critic, respectable and humorous manner. I call bullshit when I see bullshit and I praise things when praise is due. Simple as that. However, part of what motivated me to start a blog in the first place was because of how poorly the gaming journalism has gotten over the years. I wanted to be the source for people that don’t want the bullshit and just cut right to the point.
So in order to get started, let’s look at the definition of journalism, taken from Wiki:
Journalism refers to the production and distribution of reports on recent events. The word journalism applies to the occupation, as well as citizen journalists using methods of gathering information and utilizing literary techniques.
Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games. It is typically based on a core reveal/preview/review cycle.
If you’re in the gaming community, you already know what issues we tend to see with Gaming journalism. Things like journalist been incapable of playing games at a moderate level expected of them, articles been pooped out left and right without adding any value to the public, slandering the very people you’re meant to provide a service for and on occasion propagandizing some weird SJW agenda with a misleading title that is purely intended to cause controversy in order to get traffic. Things like that. You only need to type in “gaming journalism” on YouTube to see how the community feels about them.
I’ve been thinking about this for some time now and well, to be quite honest, it’s possible but difficult to fix gaming journalism and would require a massive overhaul of the system. For starters, these gaming outlets and website can start by not hiring people who are incompetent in terms of games and clearly have no interest in gaming. You can tell very easily who’s a fan and who’s not. Not hiring a mega SJW would be a plus too but that’s wishful thinking at this point. Nowadays, when I look for reviews or news on anything gaming, I watch YouTubers or read small blogs instead that gets right to the point of the topic and provide insightful information. I can trust that these guys know what they’re talking about.
Secondly, less crappy articles about random ass things that frankly most gamers couldn’t give two shits about and more actual gaming news. If you have nothing to post, then post nothing. It’s unfortunate that in this day and age, to stay relevant, you gotta post frequently and consistently but I still feel like people would actually appreciate good insightful articles instead rather than “how to turn on your PS4” articles.
Like any businesses, at the end of the day, they need us to keep them afloat. A simple start for us as the public would be to train ourself into picking up on bullshit articles that you know are misleading and avoid clicking or talking about them. We gotta start punishing the gaming outlets with our clicks, as unlike YouTube, there’s no way to show your disappointment with something unless you comment, which still rewards them. Calling them out as still only sends hundreds of people to their way and that’s what they want.
Lastly, support the people who are actually doing gaming journalism justice. It’s hard to grow in this market space and we’ve seen time and time again certain gaming outlets try to undermine small YouTubers and bloggers who are actually trying their best to create a place for information, update and discussion. Supporting them and helping them grow will ensure that in the future, these guys will be the new faces of gaming journalism that can actually be respected.
These are my thoughts, let me know what you think and if I missed anything.
